Barcelona have reached complete agreement with Saudi club Al Hilal to sign Portuguese full-back João Cancelo on a six-month loan deal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Barça made an official bid earlier on Monday
and things moved very fast from there, with Cancelo’s personal preference for a return to Catalonia proving key in the deal, as Al Hilal had reached initial agreement with Inter Milan but ended up accepting Barça’s offer instead.
The Blaugrana will use the salary cap space opened by Andreas Christensen’s injury to sign Cancelo, and Hansi Flick has given his green light on the deal as well. According to other reports from Catalan media, Flick likes Cancelo’s experience, versatility and ability to play on both sides as a full-back, and the coach also understood that signing a center-back was virtually impossible in the January transfer window.
With only the official announcement now pending, Cancelo is set for a reunion with Barça after spending the 2023-24 season on loan, and he returns to add much-needed depth at the back and give the Catalans a proven, high-level talent as Barça look for a deep run in all competitions in the second half of this campaign.
